Letters to the Editor
Newbury Community Needs to Vote
I know Newbury board president Zock stated she was going to set the story straight, but what she really did was throw you another curve ball to confuse the issue further.
Here are the facts Newbury. Ohio Revised Code (ORC) 3311.24 states that a school board can initiate a territory transfer. The board would be required to get 75 percent of the property owners written consent to move it forward. Zock has been quoted stating prior to being elected they wanted the residents to vote on a merger, consolidation or a transfer. This was a campaign tactic for election. She has also been quoted saying a public vote was not possible. Fact: Choosing ORC 3311.24 gives the residents a final say in the matter.
This route they chose not to take would have allowed the public to have a say in the issue. In the end, they chose a way that wouldn’t allow public input unless we went forward with the petition of referendum. Google ORC 3311.24 for yourself and the one they are pushing is 3311.22. The Geauga County ESC did not initiate this territory transfer. Newbury school board did.
Newbury, we vote on levies and bonds, but you don’t get to vote on this huge permanent community issue? There is no honesty or transparency with this process. Even if you are for the transfer, sign the referendum and then go vote to put it through for next year. Simple. Give the taxpayers the issue.
Zock initiated several meetings with superintendents and treasurers from West Geauga, Berkshire and Geauga ESC. Have we ever heard information from these meetings? I’ve attended 80 percent of Newbury school board meetings the last three years and I’ve heard nothing.
I believe Geauga County ESC has a clear understanding of how mergers work. However, the amount of errors in the timelines they have issued is unacceptable. The process was hurried and major mistakes have happened. If they would hurry through that process, what mistakes (to speed things up) happened in those meetings?
Newbury BOE have lost trust and credibility because they have refused to take ownership of the mistakes and do things the right way.
I received a postcard this week pushing not to sign the referendum. Odd that it didn’t say who it was paid for — misleading. Odd that it came out the same day as the Newbury Knightlines.
Some feel Zock may have used her board position to get the school to pay for those. The superintendent denies she signing off on them. Who’s to say Zock didn’t hide the charge in something? Speculation and mistrust happens when misleading and deceitful acts continue with these Newbury officials.
Why would anyone not want to sign the referendum? It is just to give the public the chance to vote. Why would David Lair promote not signing it (meaning give up your right to vote on the issue) and then turn around and ask you to vote for him in November? I fully expect Zock and her supporters to be upset by this letter.
It’s once again campaign season and character attacks are to come, particularly on me. They will respond stating how I am wrong. They will tell you I threatened an elected official one time and allowed kids to egg their houses. They have incorrect information again, and these are false claims. I am honest, do my own homework, attend meetings and do it all for the future of kids and our town.
This issue isn’t about me or any one person. It is about Newbury, our community. We, as a community expect our elected officials to have integrity and transparency when making impactful decisions. The community at large needs to vote on the future of our school, the heart of our community.
Jessica Alldredge
Newbury Township
Editor’s Note: Jessica Alldredge is running for a seat on Newbury Schools Board of Education in the Nov. 5 general election.
Water Leaks Everywhere
On my first day of senior year, an exciting day kids wait for throughout their whole high school career, I walked into a less-than-exciting building.
One of my classes this year is lab-aiding for a chemistry teacher. As one of my jobs, I make copies of papers. When I walked into the copy room, the ceiling was leaking in multiple places right next to the copy machine.
Last year, the ceiling in the gym was leaking next to art projects in a school-wide art show that students worked hard on all year.
At one point, multiple garbage cans were placed in the 300s hallway because the hallway was literally flooding. There are weeds growing into a classroom!
Don’t get me wrong, our custodians do a great job. They work out the problems to the best of their abilities. However, our current building is not fair to the amazing teachers, staff, custodians and, most importantly, the students of Chardon High School.
Karlie Pirnat
Hambden Township
Grendell Self-Promotion
People love to write letters to the editor quoting Scripture. But I’m just not that theologically sophisticated. So I’ll just quote an old gospel song: “All God’s children got shoes, when they get to heaven gonna put on their shoes and walk all over God’s heaven.”
Stay with me now and I’ll explain.
If you visited The Great Geauga County Fair, you likely saw the booth of Juvenile/Probate Judge Timothy Grendell topped with an 8-foot inflatable gavel. You also may have been handed a toy trinket gavel or a rubber bracelet with Judge Grendell’s name emblazoned on it.
According to public records, Geaugaians paid about $7,500 for this stuff. That’s right, it was paid for with public money. That’s our money that he spent on Grendell self-promotion.
I expect that you could think of dozens of ways to better spend this money.
For example, as a juvenile court judge, Grendell undoubtedly sees dozens of children who are placed in foster care due to the opiate crisis. These innocent victims have little or nothing going for them. So, let’s ask how many back-to-school shoes, clothes and bookbags would that $7,500 buy?
Now we can return to that gospel song at the beginning of the letter: “…when foster kids from Geauga County get to heaven, then they’ll get shoes…” cause they sure aren’t going to get them from Judge Grendell, the judge who lacks judgment.
David Partington
Munson Township
Modern School Building Needed
Even though I no longer have children in the schools, I support Issue 21.
A modern, efficient and accessible learning environment facilitates a quality education. Our students, teachers and community deserve school buildings that reflect the quality of our community.
Our current high school was built over 60 years ago. It was not designed for collaborative learning, or with electrical capacity and technology needed to prepare our students for the workforce of today.
As with all things as they age, more and more resources are needed to maintain and repair the facility. The decay of the building interferes with the education of our students. At this point, it is no longer fiscally responsible to continue pouring money into repairs. Just like an old car that nickel and dimes you, it’s time to replace this building.
We owe it to our students to give them the best education possible that prepares them to be productive members of society. A modern school building is necessary to do this. Vote for Issue 21.
Coco Griffis
Chardon Township
